Bring Back the Past
by kittydepp
Summary: Kitty remembered being friends with Sodapop and Steve well. She didn't realize, though, that she missed them so much. That is, until she saw them again and felt the love they shared for each other come back.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing! YAY! **

I remember being friends with Sodapop Curtis and Steve Randle well. They had always been best friends, but I was the third best friend, the girl that made up our threesome. Sodapop, Steve and Kitty. That was us.

We were a cool little group. We were greasers and boy, were we proud of it. We all wore leather jackets and jeans, even though I was a girl. I was a girl greaser, like in Peter Pan, Wendy's daughter Jane was a lost girl. I wasn't any different from them. They greased their hair back. I wore mine in a ponytail or bun with the top slicked back. I wasn't a 'greasy girl'. I was a greaser.

What happened? Being friends with a girl wasn't cool when we entered highschool. I'm sure that wasn't the only reason we drifted apart, but it was a big one. I used to watch Soda in the hall, telling myself to go up to him. I never did. I guess he must have dropped out or something, because I never saw him anymore.

Now I wasn't sure what had happened to him or Steve. I mean, I saw them every so often, but it was only on occasion. I had forgotten all about them in fact, until that afternoon.

I left school in a hurry son I'd be at my part-time job as a bartender at my aunt's bar on time. She was a real stickler about being on time. I ran in, pulling on my apron three minutes before my shift. I rushed past the people milling through and ran behind the bar. I looked up at the person who was standing in front of me.

"Tim. The usual?"I asked Tim Shepard, a regular customer, was leaning against the bar, lookin' as cool as a cucumber.

"Naw. Could ya get me a shot of cherry vodka?" He asked. I nodded and pulled out a shot glass. Since Tim was a regular customer, I knew he was old enough to buy the stuff. After I served it to him, he thanked me and headed back to the table where his gang sat.

I began to clean glasses. I didn't drink myself, but I knew the bartender ways well enough. I felt someone come to the counter, but since I was putting glasses away, I didn't turn around.

"Hey, can ya get me a pina colada, Love?" I heard a rough voice with a New York accent ask. I ignored the 'love' comment. Men are always flirting with me, and I'd learned to ignore it. I started mixing his drink. When I turned around to give it to him, I stopped in my tracks. The man I was staring at didn't look like he was old enough to buy alcohol.

"ID?" I asked in a bored voice. I knew he would have some weak excuse that wouldn't cut it. To my surprise, he opened his wallet and handed me an ID.

I read it over. So he was 21. Then my eyes drifted to the name. Dallas Winston. No way! The greaser? I looked up at him and saw a slight resemblance of the kid my friends used to bum around with.

"Dallas?" I asked. He looked up from the drink he was gulping down.

"Yeah?" He asked, giving me a confused look. "Wait, do I know you?"

"Um, sort of." I told him. "My name's Kitty Vienna. I used to be good friends with Sodapop Curtis and Steve Randle."

"Oh, yeah, that tom-girl they used to hang out with. Wow, Girl, it's been a while! I didn't even recognize you!" Dallas was his same old self. Just older. "Where ya been?"

"I have a pretty time consuming job here. Plus I go to school," I informed him. "Where have Soda and Steve been?"

"Workin' at the DX Station." He told me. "They're pretty well off."

"I heard that Soda's parents died." I said softly. I remembered hearing the news for the first time. I wanted to tell Soda that I was devastated, but I had no idea where to find him.

"Yeah, that was a few months ago." He said. "I still can't get over this. It's been so long." He looked me up and down. Then he raised an eyebrow and gave a wry grin. "You aged well, sweetheart. You're pretty nice, all grown up."

"Thank you," I said bluntly. I had never trusted Dally and I wasn't about to start. "Well, it was nice talking to you." I told him, then moved down to the next customer. I thought about Soda and Steve. I tried to remember what Soda looked like. Blondish brown hair and deep blue eyes was all I really could remember. The thing that stuck with me the most, though, was his voice. It was always sweet and caring. I missed it.

Steve was easier to remember. He had a typical look, with dark hair and a fairly nice build. He was always grinning and used to wear his shirts unbuttoned so everyone could see his chest. As I thought about him, I wondered if he had become conceited.

When my aunt finally told me I could leave, I was still thinking about Steve and Soda. It was only about seven so I decided to head over to the drive-in. But halfway there, I realized that I was running out of gas. I thought I should probably run home and ask Sissy if she wanted to see the movie too. Sissy, which was short for Sistine, was my little sister. She was almost four and since my mother had run out on us, I was pretty much the only mother she had.

When I got to the house, I ran inside as fast as I could. "Sissy!" I called. She came tumbling down the stairs. Her little blond ringlets bobbed as she threw herself against me.

"Kitty!" She cried. I hugged her back. Then I climbed up our stairs and into my bedroom.

"Dad, Sissy and I are goin' to the drive-in!" I called.

"Alright, Kitty. But if it gets too wild . . . Come home, okay? She's just a little girl." My dad called back. I knew I was lucky to have a dad that cared. I looked in the mirror one last time. I pulled my light dishwater blond hair out of my blue eyes and reapplied my lipstick. Then I grabbed Sissy's hand and we ran out to the truck

I almost stalled because I completely forgot about the gas. Luckily, there was a gas station nearby. I pulled in and turned to Sissy, who was making a pouty face at me.

"We'll go to the movie in just a second, I promise!" I exclaimed. Then I turned the guy that had come to my window. "Alright, I need you to fill it up." But when I looked at the guy, I mean, really looked, I almost fainted. He looked like a movie star. He had the right hair, the right smile, the right radiant glow. The scariest thing was that I recognized it from somewhere. I glanced at his name tag. Yep. Sodapop.

"Alright, then." He replied, giving me a smile. He went and started up the thingy. Then he came back to my window. "So, how are ya?"

"I'm fine." I said. "Do you remember me?" He looked confused.

"I don't think so," he answered. Then he got a look of remembrance on his face. "Wait, I think I do know you. I mean, I don't know your name, but I've met you, right?"

"Yeah. We used to be best friends. It's Katherine Vienna." I told him. He gave me a huge grin and started cracking up.

"No way!" He cried. "Wow, it's been so long!" How are you?"He opened the door for me and when I got out, he threw his arms around me.

"Oh, I'm good." I was grinning like an idiot, but he was too, so I guess that made it all right. I let him hold me for a few minutes then stood back and took a long look at him.

"We have you been?" He asked. "I haven't seen you for ages!"

"Oh, I've been hangin' around, ya know, workin' and stuff." I told him. He was looking at me with surprise. I wondered if I looked as different to him as he did to me.

"God, I was just looking through the yearbook the other day and saw your picture. I said to Pony, 'Do you remember her?' He said that he didn't. But I did." Soda was laughing again. "That is so ironic that you should show up now. Hey Steve!" He called. I watched Steve come over. It was so weird, seeing two of my closest friends so grown up. Steve still wore his shirt open, and he still made swirls in his thick hair. "Look who it is!"

"Who is it, man?" Steve asked, looking at me curiously.

"Kitty!" Soda cried, pushing me toward him. He took my arm.

"Hey, I remember! That little broad we used to hang with." Steve said. "Wow, Chick, it's been a while!" Then he looked in the car. Sissy looked like she was going to cry.

"Oh, come on out, Sissy," I said. When she climbed out, both of the boys looked surprised.

"Is she yours?" Steve asked and I laughed.

"No! She's my little sister!" I said, chuckling. "Sistine, meet Steve and Sodapop."

"Hi!" She said in an immensely cute way. They both grinned.

"So, where are you heading?" Soda asked. I opened my mouth, but Sissy interrupted me.

"We're going to see a movie!" She told them. I nodded sheepishly. I couldn't stop looking at Soda. He was so beautiful! It's not often you saw a beautiful guy in the way Soda was. I didn't remember him looking like that. Maybe he hadn't.

"Well, Steve and I were going to meet some friends there. We could escort you tow young ladies, if you fancy it." Soda offered. I noticed that Steve was kind of standoffish. Hmm. Shy, maybe?

"Sure. We'd like that." I answered, then laughed. "I'm sure Sissy will be delighted to have one of you fine men as a date!" Steve raised an eyebrow.

"I've been known to date some pretty weird chicks, but never will I date a three-year-old." Soda was looking at me, but turned and laughed at Steve when he finished talking.

"Just for that, you can go with Sistine and I'll go with Kitty." He said and took my arm. I laughed and winked at Steve.

"She's a cheap date. She'll be fine if you just buy her some popcorn," I told him jokingly. We walked toward my car and I climbed into the driver's seat, listening to Steve grumbling behind me. I looked at Soda. He sat down in the shotgun seat and I motioned for Steve to get in the back. "Alright, what drive-in? I was planning on going to the Dingo, but if you were going to meet someone elsewhere..."

"No, the Dingo's right on the money," Soda told me, giving me the smile I remembered so well. I was so glad to see him.

"Great. Soda, I am so glad to see you. I didn't really know how much I missed you until I saw you this afternoon!" I said. He leaned over to give me a hug.

"Same here. What happened to separate us? I remember how good friends we used to be . . . " Soda said, trailing off. "You know, you look so different."

"Different good or different bad?" I teased. He grinned.

"Different good, of course!" He said. I hoped to God in heaven he wasn't kidding. I felt that weird tingling feeling I used to get in middle school, when I got a crush on someone. I thought that it had long since gone away, but looking at Soda, I felt it strong as ever. I realized how weird that ways. I had a crush on someone that was like a brother to me.


End file.
